Tim Roth
'Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth '(born May 14, 1961) is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He starred as Cal Lightman in the TV series Lie to Me. Early life Roth was born in Dulwich, London, the son of Ann, a painter and teacher, and Ernie, a journalist, painter and, until the 1970s, a member of the British Communist PartyTim Roth Biography (1961-)Tim Roth: Press Roth's father was born under the surname "Smith" in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York to a British immigrant family of Irish descent; he changed his surname to "Roth" after World War II in order to hide his nationality when travelling in countries hostile to the British. Roth attended the Strand School in Tulse Hill. As a young man, he wanted to be a sculptur and studied at London's Camberwell College of Art. Career Roth made his acting debut at the age of 21 playing a white power skinhead in a TV movie titled Made in Britain. Roth played an East End character in King of the Ghetto which was made by the BBC. This four-part drama was shown in 1986 on national television, based on a novel by Farukh Dhondy. Partly set in Brick Lane, the drama caused a sensation among the public, especially amongst the Bengali community. In 1984, Roth played an apprentice hitman in Stephen Frears' The Hit with Terence Stamp and John Hurt, earning an "Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer". With that recognition, he appeared in several other films during the end of the decade. In 1989, he had a memorable supporting role as the buffoonish lackey Mitchell in Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. In 1990, Roth began to enjoy international attention with starring roles as Vincent van Gogh in Robert Altman's Vincent & Theo and as Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead. Roth and other young British actors who were becoming established film actors such as Bruce Payne, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Paul McGann were dubbed the Brit Pack''http://www.brucepayne.de/press/articles/facearticle1987.html, a nickname based off the Brat Pack of the United States. Roth impressed director Quentin Tarantino and was cast as Mr. Orange in his 1992 ensemble piece ''Reservoir Dogs. This film paved the way for more work in Hollywood. In 1994, Tarantino cast him again as a robber in the acclaimed Pulp Fiction. They worked again in the 1995 movie Four Rooms, where Roth played the extremely physically animated role of Ted the Bellhop. Roth was very successful playing viciously evil English nobleman Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy opposite Liam Neeson; for this role he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a Golden Globe nomination, and won a BAFTA. In 1996, he went a different way, starring with Drew Barrymore in Woody Allen's musical comedy Everyone Says I Love You. He also starred as Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon 1900 (or just "1900") in The Legend of 1900, and in the same year co-starred with the late Tupac Shakur in the drama Gridlock'd. He made a critically-acclaimed debut as a director in 1999 with The War Zone, a film version of Alexander Stuart's novel. In 2001, he made another important move by portraying General Thade in Tim Burton's blockbuster Planet of the Apes. Roth was the original choice for the role of Severus Snape in the ''Harry Potter'' film series, but he turned it down for the Planet of the Apes job.http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/12/07/what-would-potter-have-been-like-with-tim-roth-as-snape/ He was also considered for the part of Hannibal Lecter in the 2001 film Hannibal before Anthony Hopkins returned to reclaim the role. Roth appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth and Michael Haneke's Funny Games, then starred opposite Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk as Emil Blonsky. In 2009, he began starring in a new series on Fox called Lie To Me. He plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an expert on body language who assists local and federal law organizations in the investigations of crimes. His character is based on Dr. Paul Ekman, notable psychologist and expert on body language and facial expressions. Personal life Roth has a son, Jack, born to Lori Baker in 1984. He married Nikki Butler in 1993 and had two sons with her: Timothy Hunter (b. 1995) and Michael Cormac (b. 1996). Roth is a supporter of the Green Party of England and Wales. Filmography As actor As director * The War Zone (1999) Category:Actors